u/z00mbinis

▲ 5 r/rccars

Best RC car for my 6 year old's birthday? And charger help?

I've read through other similar post here, but they're either older or want different things so I hope it's ok to post my ask as well.

My 6 year old son loves cars and has a blast whenever he gets to drive a little remote car around, but they've all been simple/cheap ones that friends had. I don't WANT to spend a ton of money on this, but I also want to get him something that's durable/won't crap out. He's not the most coordinated and we don't have a big house/yard, so I don't want something that's SUPER fast cuz he won't be able to use it unless we go to a big open area. I had decided on an SCX24 cuz I thought obstacle courses would be cool, but the kind folks there steered me away from it because they said it'd be too slow. I think he'll like driving up n down stuff, but not in a methodical precision way at this age and we don't have any courses or the kinds of tracks I've seen in videos while researching.

I found this one https://www.amazon.com/HAIBOXING-Off-Road-Water-Resistant-Electronics-Batteries/dp/B0FLXZSX64?th=1 (it's the 18859E brushed) that seems to be a good blend of durable, speed (but not too fast and has the switch to reduce it further), and also able to handle some simple obstacles? And good for both indoors and outdoors, right? Is this the right pick for us? I know I don't need a full on hobby car, but I want him to have a fun car that he can actually use without worrying it'll break or crap out. I would (ideally) like to spend less than $100 on this unless there's a GREAT case for why something a little more expensive would be good instead.

Separately: how do I take good care of LiPo batteries? I don't know how much he's gonna wanna play with this (a lot, I hope), but I imagine there'll be some frustration if he plays for 20 mins and goes through both batteries and then they have to charge one after another for an hour+ each. I looked at chargers, but I don't know what's good and I don't know what I need or what'll work with the batteries and connectors I'm getting. And the "good" chargers were sometimes as much or more than the car! I found these batteries https://www.amazon.com/HAIBOXING-Battery-Rechargeable-Batteries-P1849/dp/B0FQP2GMH5 that seem identical to what comes with the car so that at least gets double the time, but I still run into the charging issue. Also, should I be charging them and then leaving them charged so they're ready when he wants to drive? And I thought I saw something where if you run it down too far it'll never work again (seems insane, but???)?

I know I'm overthinking this. But I think he's gonna love it (he's wanted a remote control car ever since seeing them in Costco) and I don't want it to be so exciting and then immediately disappointing if we get him a cheap car that breaks hitting a wall, falling off a ramp, etc OR because he spends more time charging the batteries vs playing with it.

reddit.com
u/z00mbinis — 3 days ago
▲ 5 r/SCX24

Which version should I get my 6 year old for his birthday?

My son is almost 6 and I'm looking at getting him an RC car for his birthday. I've absolutely gone down a rabbit hole with this and am hoping someone can strip this down and help me figure out what to get cuz I'm muddled and also can't tell what's current info vs outdated.

He's wanted an RC car for a while and loves playing with them when he has the opportunity. But he's also often struggles to control them (hence why I'd prefer to start slow). That's part of why I'm looking at the SCX24 - because they're not super fast and hopefully won't frustrate him the way a crazy speedy one does? But I also want it to be sturdy (or have replacement parts) when he inevitably drives it off something or runs into a wall or whatever.

So:

  1. Which SCX24 should I get if my priority is affordable and fun for my 6yo? He doesn't care what it looks like/car brands - he's just gonna be over the moon about an RC car.
  2. Are they all pretty much the same - like can't go wrong with any of them - and just minor differences? Or are there a few clear standout winners for this situation?
  3. I suspect he'll want to drive a lot - are there batteries/chargers you recommend to help maximize his drive time + keep the batteries from crapping out?
  4. Should I be looking at something else instead? A different brand/model/type/etc?

I have no idea about RC cars - I just want him to love it - so if I'm not thinking of something, please let me know!

Thanks!

reddit.com
u/z00mbinis — 3 days ago